It started appearing in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on May 18, 1988. It currently appears exclusively in the Inquirer line of newspapers (Broadsheet Inquirer and its free concise sister tabloid called Inquirer Libre and tabloids Bandera and Tumbok.) Its popularity has spawned numerous compilations, a live-action television series, and merchandise such as T-shirts and figurines.

The strip does not only showcase domestic life; occasionally, it features adventure, drama, and pure spoof sequences. More often, the strip mirrors the general sentiment of the Filipino people on relevant topics such as corruption in the government as well as Filipino pop culture. In this respect, the strip has been likened to Garry Trudeau's Doonesbury. Sometimes, political satire is woven into some ordinary strips and adventure stories.

History

Medina conceived the strip while working under contract in Iraq in 1986. In 1988, he peddled his strips to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. His strip, named after a friend's piggery in Bulacan, was accepted on the spot.

Medina originally spelled "Pugad Baboy" with a hyphen in the strip itself, though not in the title.

For many years, the newspaper strip was exclusively a black and white daily. A full-color Sunday strip in the same paper debuted on October 3, 2004. Before the tabloid Inquirer Libre debuted, the strip appeared exclusively in the Inquirer broadsheet.

In a strip published in September 2006, Medina commented on online life substituting for physical contact. He mentioned Wikipedia as one of the alternatives to library visits, the other being Google.

Characters

The Sungcals

The Sungcal family reflects aspects of traditional and typical Filipino families, with a housewife and an overseas contract worker as members, with a domestic helper to supplement. "Sungkal" is a Tagalog word for the term "digging a hole with a (pig's) snout".

Dagul (Adagulfo Sungcal Jr.), often referred to with the title Mang (Mister) - i.e. Mang Dagul - The patriarch of the family. He works as a chef in a five-star hotel where he specializes in unorthodox dishes. He is often shown at home, usually voicing out on the state of affairs in the Philippines. He is also highly xenophobic. Over the years, he studies different martial arts like karate, arnis and aikido (like Medina), and he also dabbles in tennis and golf. He calls his wife "Honeycured." "Dagul" is Filipino slang for someone or something big.

Debbie (Debra Anne Sungcal) - The matriarch of the family, a loving traditional housewife and mother. Her recurring traits include a love for bargain shopping, indecision regarding actual purchases (sometimes on purpose), and complaining about decisions she lets Dagul make (much to Dagul's annoyance and regret). Also, she extremely dislikes any honest opinion Dagul gives her about her figure and/or clothes she wears or tries on - to the point of throwing him out of the house, despite her demanding honest opinions in the first place. She calls her husband "Sweet Ham."

Kules (Hercules Sungcal) - The eldest son, a building engineer in Saudi Arabia. When not working, he reads letters from pen pals, goes on blind dates (usually with funny consequences), hangs out with his friend 'Adre (short for compadre; see below), or thinks about the events back in the Philippines. Much like Kules, Medina was formerly a contract worker in Saudi Arabia. The origin of his name is often mistaken to be that of the legendary Greek hero of the same name, when in fact, he is named after the Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft.

Tiny (Cristina Sungcal) - The teenage daughter. Her name is not only an obvious misnomer, but also a testament to her vanity and denial regarding her size. She asserts herself as sexy and repeatedly insists that her waistline is 28 inches (the last time this was true was when she was 9 or 10 years old). She does commit herself to diets that often end in failure. Her cooking leaves much to be desired by her family, and is sometimes inedible (in one strip she naively uses papaya soap in place of papaya fruit). She studies in the University of Santo Tomas, where Medina graduated in 1983 with a degree in architecture. There, she takes up mass communication, a course the university doesn't actually offer.

Utoy (Adagulfo Sungcal III) - The youngest son. Intelligent and musically talented (playing the saxophone), he behaves much like other children his age. Medina initially depicted him as a clueless infant, but he later aged him to about eight years old probably to give a child's insight on current events (eight is also the age of most of the child characters in this strip). Despite his youth, he claims Jolen as his girlfriend. In a "Boy Scout" story arc, Medina gives him an absurdly versatile Swiss Army Knife (apart from the usual tools, his knife comes equipped with such things as a refrigerator, a Nintendo video game console complete with television, and an all-terrain vehicle).

Brosia (Ambrosia Tangara) - The family's housemaid from Gingoog City, and one of Pugad Baboy's few thin residents. She is brainless, as characterized by her nonsensical remarks and her mesmerization by reading materials in English. Medina eventually elaborated on this trait and said she couldn't afford to advance her studies. She does possess excellent math skills regarding financial issues such as bank accounts, deposits, salary computations, currencies, etc. As said by Dagul in Pugad Baboy 17, "'Pag sa pera nga pala 'di ka tanga no?" ("So, you're not dumb when it comes to money, huh?") Tanga is Tagalog for "dumb". She makes up for her general lack of intelligence (or formal schooling) with witty jokes, insults and pranks on the community's various residents. Her most frequent victim is Dagul, whose semi-baldness becomes the butt of her jokes, much to his chagrin. She is 'Adre's younger sister (see below).

Polgas

Polgas (derived from the Spanish and Tagalogpulgas for "flea") is the Sungcal's anthropomorphic family dog. Notable for his human characteristics such as speech, optional bipedalism, use of clothing and general behavior, he is called ang asong hindi (the dog who isn't) in material outside the strip proper because of his human characteristics. He acts as an extra member of the Sungcals and is his master Dagul's drinking buddy. However, he still behaves like a typical dog when he chooses to.

Polgas was initially a normal dog which walked on all fours, albeit one who wore shirts and undershirts like Dagul. Medina eventually gave him the ability to talk, followed by other human characteristics like a more human-like physique. Originally, Brosia, a former ventriloquist, supplied Polgas's voice, but Medina was so dissatisfied with the idea that he abandoned it completely. Medina later explained in a 1995 spin-off graphic novel that Polgas developed human characteristics due to his master's exotic version of bibingka (rice cake) and exposure to radiation emitted by television sets. Apparently, the combination had a teratogenic effect on him, somewhat similar to the mutation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Medina eventually developed the character into a "man (dog) of action", humorously saving the human characters from danger during story arcs, and later a full-fledged action hero involved with more serious activities. Polgas became a deep penetration agent of a fictional military division called the Organized Canine Bureau (OCB). This organization spoofs the TV series Wiseguy, which features a fictional branch of the FBI called the Organized Crime Bureau, responsible for the protagonist Vinnie Terranova's activities.

Medina's OCB was originally formed to combat the pilfering of stray dogs being sold in Metro Manila for their meat. Wisedog's second mission took place in Baguio City, where the selling and eating of dog meat is an illegal industry. (See The Baguio Connection). Polgas's original call sign in the OCB was Wisedog (a homage to Wiseguy). Later, he changed his call sign to Dobermaxx after he and some other residents of Pugad Baboy were accidentally sent to and returned from the year 2078. Subsequently, he is sometimes referred to as "Agent Delta" or simply "Delta".

As an agent, Polgas was issued with a prototype garapata (flea) gun, which shoots droplets of flea sweat that causes itching that lasts for six months. Later, he was issued a tiny surveillance robot flea named "Gary" and ballistic arnis sticks. After his first mission, he was issued a customized Porsche 959, the Thunderdog. As a result from his adventure in 2078, he acquired a technologically advanced garapata gun. Later he also acquired the Thunderpuppy, a Harley Davidson V-Rod motorcycle.

As Wisedog/Dobermaxx, Polgas has fought many foes over the years, ranging from the mundane (drug pushers) to the fantastic (a lord of supernatural creatures). His most prominent foe is Atong Damuho (Renate Domingo), erstwhile drug pusher, dognapper, illegal logger and most recently, magic mushroom courier.

The character is also the mascot of Medina's companies, the now-defunct Pugad Baboy Inc., and Pol Medina Jr. Novelties.

The Sabaybunots

The Sabaybunots reflect a very violent but tolerably quiet household. "Sabay, bunot!" is used by the Philippine military as an oral Tagalog command during martial ceremonies when the drawing of weapons is called for, as in the drawing of officers' swords. It roughly means "draw simultaneously". This may be in homage to Tomas' military background.

Tomas, also known as Sarge (Sgt. Tomas Sabaybunot) - Representing the Philippine's military branch, he is a master sergeant of the Philippine Air Force. While said to be fearless and often trigger-happy, his "chauvinist pig" lifestyle is ironically neutralized by his dominant wife. He is often reduced to doing inane chores, and any attempt to complain about said chores results in physical battery by his wife. His name could be a pun on toma, Filipino slang for alcoholic drinks; Tomas does like to drink a lot, as does his cousin Igno. Tomas also likes to spend his "extra time" at disco bars, though this occasionally leads him to having gout. And though he has a large collection of guns, he suffers from severe trypanophobia.

Barbie (Barbara Q. Sabaybunot) - Tomas's wife. She frequently orders Tomas around, probably due to his chauvinism, his womanizing, and her extremely feministic views. This difference of opinion often turns into a physical altercation, such as Barbie giving a tiptoeing husband her trademarked uppercut whenever he arrives home in the wee hours of the morning drunk and/or smeared with the scent of women's perfume. Her maiden name (Barbie Q.) is a pun on barbecue. In Pugad Baboy 18, her first name was rendered "Barbara-Queen" (possibly after a local barbecue franchise called Grill Queen). She often spends her free time doing physical workouts (lifting weights, etc.). She is also hinted as a born-again Christian, as she holds or attends prayer meetings, and describes Tomas as "born-against," because of his sinful ways. Even in the realm of weapons, Barbie outguns her husband. Tomas is usually portrayed with his service pistol while Barbie often has an Uzi.

Paltik (Paul Thomas Sabaybunot), the couple's only son. While his friend Utoy can be described as the "brains", he can be described as the "jester". Quite mischievous in many ways, he often sleeps in class and is clearly much more interested in other areas, such as teasing his buck-toothed teacher, Miss Nobatos, typically comparing her face to that of a horse. He is also fond of bribing and blackmailing his own father, usually in exchange for some pocket money or other favors. His nickname is a Filipino term that means "homemade gun." The Philippine military also uses the term paltik to specifically refer to a handgun. The appellation is probably utilized by the cartoonist in reference to Paltik being a smaller version of his father, Tomas, who always likes to carry big guns.

The Lamouns

Lamon is a Tagalog verb meaning "to eat [food] in great quantities", or more loosely, "pig out", and is commonly used as a label pertaining to one's gluttony. The surname was spelled "Lamon" at first.

Bab (Roberto Lamoun) - the resident true-blue hippie who is lazy and unemployed. He is also unlucky in love, especially with Tiny, who was once his girlfriend for all of two seconds. He has applied for and held many jobs over the years, but these never get off the ground. His job undertakings are described as "first-day, last-day" as he is often fired on the same day that he's hired. Bab is usually referred by the rest of the community as a bad example and an occasional drug addict. When a story focuses on his addiction, he is said to be "using" marijuana (though one never actually sees him "using" the drug) and is sometimes seen with several marijuana leaves in his possession. Bab has also gotten himself infected with gonorrhea (shown in a minor arc in Pugad Baboy 19) and other sexually transmitted diseases on occasion.

Jolen (Joanne Elena Lamoun) - Bab's much younger sister. She is more intelligent than Bab (or at least more diligent), and is often reminded by their mother never to follow in her brother's footsteps, despite the many realities her brother himself imparts to her. She is also Utoy's girlfriend and often goes out with him, though they are both only eight to nine years old, as already mentioned. She has a speech impediment as she pronounces her k's and s's as t's. However, this only manifests itself while she is singing. Jolen or holen is a Filipino term for marbles.

Tita Cel (Cecilia Lamoun) - Bab and Jolen's mother. She disapproves of her son and dotes on her daughter. She despises Bab's smoking vice, as this led to the death of her husband (Rodrigo Lamoun, as mentioned in Pugad Baboy XI) She has no qualms in hiding her disappointment of her near-useless son and states it outright, as seen in Pugad Baboy X.

The Tangeres

Ka Noli (Nolasco M. Tangere) - the resident communist who is a proud member of the New People's Army. While he believes in the merits of communism and calls most of the other residents as capitalists, not only does he manage to have drinking sessions with them, but he is also very good friends with them. Tomas, a natural enemy, is his best friend. Ironically, Medina says he and his son enjoy playing Monopoly. His name is derived from the title of Noli Me Tangere, the first novel of the Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal.

The Tangs

Mao (Mauricio Tang) - the resident Chinese-Filipino who hails from Fujian Province and owns a sari-sari store (a small retail store) in Pugad Baboy. He often believes in business sense and earning money and he sometimes brandishes a sword on whoever earns his ire, especially those who don't pay their dues. His name is play on ma-utang, which in Tagalog, translates roughly to "one who likes to borrow money."

Pao (Paulino Tang) - the resident homosexual and Mao's son. A friend of Tiny, his tastes and attitude are typically gay. This even caused him trouble once when he was mistaken for a pregnant woman by a horde of monsters and he did not want to admit his real gender. His father once expressed disappointment over him as he remarked that Pao has a resemblance to basketball player "Gelli Codiñela." He also owns a beauty parlor and works his way through college at the same time. His name is a play on pa-utang, which, in Tagalog, translates roughly to "Can I borrow some money?"

Other characters

Igno (Benigno Ramos) - Introduced to the series in 1998 as a bodyguard for Mao's son (Jong), Igno is Tomas' cousin and an ex-convict from the actual National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa. He claims he was incarcerated because of a Breach of Contract with his former boss, who employed him as a bodyguard. Possibly due to his being an ex-convict, he is actually more competent in survival skills than his cousin. He specializes in "improvised weapons employment", and even took a part-time job as a bounty hunter at one time in order to earn some cash. He drinks very often, but is afraid of ghosts and the supernatural. In fact, his frequent drinking caused his breath, blood and urine to become highly flammable, especially while drunk. His name is a play on ignoramus.

Joboy (Joey Boy Llabe) - the resident mechanic who has a knack for cars and often likes to drive fast (in fact, he is a speed maniac). His last name is the Filipino word for wrench, from the Spanish llave.

Tata Mads (Amado Pascala) - the resident musician who once taught Tiny voice lessons and sometimes comes to Dagul to comment on his awful singing. Tamad is Tagalog for lazy. Though his appearances in the strip have decreased over the years, he does not appear to be truly lazy.

Doc Sebo (Miguel Sebo, M. D.) - the resident physician who specializes in circumcision, but is generally shown to be weak and incompetent in anything else in his profession. In early strips, he prescribes only one kind of medicine - aspirin. Sebo is Tagalog for congealed fat or solidified lard.

'Adre (Cesar "Butch" Tangara) - Kules's fellow worker in Saudi Arabia and Brosia's older brother. He shares the same interests and sentiments with Kules, sometimes with photos of their penpals. His relation to Brosia was revealed when he went home to the Philippines for a vacation (Kules was also home at the time). 'Adre is short for kumpadre or male best friend.

Miss Nobatos (Eusebia Nobatos) - Utoy, Paltik, Joma, and Jolen's teacher. She often rages at Paltik for his jokes and actions, particularly when he refers to her as a horse, and takes too many doses of aspirin because of him and any other shenanigans her other students cause. Her name is a play on the Spanish term novatos, meaning "new race horse."

Patrolman Durugas (PFC Romeo Durugas) - a police officer who often apprehends drivers mostly for no apparent reason and receives bribes from them. Dagul happens to be one those disgruntled motorists. He is created by Medina based on the Filipinos' general view on policemen as corrupt. In Tagalog, mandurugas means "one who cheats".

Senator Cabalfin (Sen. Usurpo Cabalfin) - the resident member of the Philippine Senate. He is seen more playing children's games and spending people's taxes on his own indulgences rather than doing his job as a legislator. He is created by Medina as a reflection of corrupt government officials. His personal name Usurpo is derived from the word usurp.

Recurring minor characters

There are also recurring characters in the strip, including:

Barbie's mother (unnnamed), the stereotypical mother-in-law for Tomas from Parañaque who rues about death and her home city's water problem;

Madame Cabalfin (Diana Elizabeth Cabalfin), Senator Cabalfin's equally corrupt wife (based on Imelda Marcos), their son Bong (Enrique Noel Cabalfin) who isn't really part of the inner circle of the other four kids, and the senator's personnel;

Attorney Adriano (first name never mentioned), the fiscal;

"Principal Schwarzenegger" (Arnold Palacio), the ugly school principal who is as exasperated as Miss Nobatos when it comes to seeing Paltik in his office;

Nadir Hamid Mohammad, Kules's employer and is the subject of many smelly jokes as part of the Filipino stereotypical view that Arabs are foul-smelling;

Ka Beza (Bezalie Tangere), Ka Noli's wife, who appears to have an "allergic reaction to soldiers," resulting in Tomas being her target practice whenever she's around;

Father Marty (Fr. Mario Martinez), Bab's priest-friend who is studying canon law at the Vatican and has apparently moved back to Pugad Baboy as its local priest;

Rosanna (last name not mentioned), a buxom local mestiza, who as part of a running gag, is a frequent victim of coconut thieves (often Bab, Tomas and Igno) but not before being viewed naked by these thieves;

Frostee (a play on the word prostitute, of which she is), the sexy Japayuki (a female Filipino worker in Japan);

Mang Igme (full name never mentioned), a fishball vendor who believes that the fishball industry is the solution to the poverty in the Philippines;

Brando, Tiny's current boyfriend, being a chef from Malate has unfortunately earned him the ire of the very much paranoid Mang Dagul, who feels the former will replace him as the family's chef. However, Dagul seems to have grown comfortable with him as he no longer seems to hold anything against him;

The Los Kosas Muntinlupas, a trio of fellow ex-inmates and Igno's supposed friends. Wakali who is bald and has a mole on his nose, Lino who is the skinny one, and Don who have a shaved bald and has a moustache. Though they have appeared on previous book covers and have a cameo appearance in Benigno Ramos: Bounty Hunter, they are introduced properly in Pugad Baboy XX; and others.

Other minor characters in the strips serve as antagonists to the residents. See: Villains of Pugad Baboy On the other hand, the Pugad Baboy gang are often aided by friends and acquaintances they meet during these escapades. See each article of the story arcs for info on these allies.

Medina drew many of the above minor characters for the covers of some compilations, but these did not appear in the selected strips. Some of these appeared either earlier in the comic strip's run (such as Father Marty) while others were just mere extras (such as the Los Kosas Muntinlupas, Igno's former fellow inmates in Bilibid Prison). Many of these were only given official names in "character guide" supplements in compilations (such as the inmates and the school principal, mostly hitherto unnamed). These names are then carried over to future strips.

Stylistic elements

British English words are prevalent in the strip (like -ise words) and Medina uses these kinds of words in his own write-ups.

Age

The characters are typically ageless, and their actual ages are usually vague. The few characters whose present ages are stated are Dagul (48), and the kids (8 or 9). Utoy and 'Adre are the only characters to have visibly aged in the strip through the years, barring flashbacks (Utoy first appeared as a baby; 'Adre has lately lost some of his hair). A "holdover hippie" from the Sixties, Bab nevertheless seems to be only in his twenties or thirties, which would be impossible in real time. In the early-1990s story arc Ang Hiwaga ng Dueñas (published in Pugad Baboy 4) the faith healer Mang Danilo, an old acquaintance, mentions that Bab was teenaged at the time of Woodstock (Bab immediately covers the faith healer's mouth as the word "Woodstock" is mentioned). A series of strips published in Pugad Baboy X (1998) implies that Bab is at least over 28 years old. In the same compilation, Tita Cel mentions that Jolen is 27 years younger than Bab and since the stock age of the Pugad Baboy children is 8-9, Bab is possibly 35-36.

Recurring jokes

One of the strip's running gags is the depiction (or at least the description) of Arabs having very foul body odor. Examples of this running gag are Kules' Saudi friend, which the former calls Lancaster (because the friend smells like the langka or jack fruit), and the stinky concentrated chemical agent PSSI (pawis ng singit ng sundalong Iraqi or Iraqi soldier's armpit sweat) mentioned in the story arc The Baguio Connection. This running gag is likely based on the author's personal experience. It is also reasonable, considering that the desert atmosphere in most Arab countries prevents their people from taking daily baths.
Other such gags include the monotonous diet of chicken in Saudi Arabia (also likely based on personal experience), and Paltik's blatant aversion to the "coming of age" ritual of circumcision.

Authorial presence

Medina usually voices out his takes on events, people and the like through Polgas and Mang Dagul. (Polgas is also recurringly shown as a comic strip artist, like his creator.) According to Medina, the characters he most identifies with are Polgas, Mang Dagul, and Utoy; like him, they wear earrings on their left ears. Medina himself has even appeared once in the strip proper, holding a cartooning workshop in Palawan, though he avoids breaking the fourth wall by not referring to himself as the strip's creator.

Major story arcs

As mentioned earlier in this article, the strip does not showcase domestic life alone as Medina has created story arcs which involve the various characters in adventure, dramatic or other plotted situations.

There is no standard as how long a story arc may last, since it can run from several weeks to a few months. The story arc is only titled when it is included in a compilation.

This list below contains named story arcs that last at least 15 strips long and which compilation each appears.

Not included in the list above is Planet of the Dogs, Medina's homage/parody to Planet of the Apes. This story arc, which appeared in Disi-Sais! is relatively short at only 9 strips long. Since that arc, it took Medina three years before he recently came up with Benigno Ramos: Bounty Hunter.

Books and merchandise

The first compilation of Pugad Baboy comic strips was originally part of a thesis by Frank Aldana, a student of De La Salle University. This compilation became so popular that Medina himself made more. Typically, a new compilation is released near the start of each year. Including Aldana's compilation, there are currently 20 Pugad Baboy books:

Pirata - an original graphic novel about Polgas befriending a reformed Muslimpirate named Khalid and their quest for the pirate group to surrender. It was intended to be the first of a graphic novel series called Polgas - Ang Asong Hindi, but was made a stand-alone graphic novel because of the time and effort given to its creation, as well as the seriousness and darkness of its story compared to the hilarity of Pugad Baboy itself.

Two Polgas - Ang Asong Hindi books actually appeared, sporting a smaller, regular-sized format than Pirata. Printed in black and white, unlike Pirata, they were produced as a joint effort between Medina and the Alamat Comics Group, an independent comics company. These books were Baboyani (a portmanteau of baboy and bayani, Filipino for "hero") an alternate universe adventure which recasts the characters as rebels in the late-nineteenth century Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule; and Conspigracy, a story that takes place during an excursion in Laguna. Actually, Medina only contributed the art for the covers and title pages; the rest of the art was done by other artists.

Polgas comics - a "magazine" of original strips by Medina and other artists which also contained a spoof "horoscope" and some exotic recipes, saw at least two issues.

The popularity of Pugad Baboy also spawned some merchandise such as DogStyle Apparel and Polgas P-gurines (a set of figurines depicting Polgas and some Polgas characters). They are currently distributed by Medina's company, Pol Medina Jr. Novelties.

On September 25, 1993, Pugad Baboy was made into a live-action TV show called Rated PB (Pang-Bayan) - Pugad Baboy Sa TV. Directed by Leo Martinez, the show featured Edgar Mortiz, Giselle Sanchez and Rudy Meyer among the cast. Though the show was live-action, the opening logo featured limited animation. Some of the episodes were based upon earlier plots in the strip, while others followed a skit show format. It was aired on GMA 7 and lasted only two seasons, 15 episodes in all.

In the ninth book, Medina states that he dreams of making a Pugad Baboycartoon.

Besides Pugad Baboy books proper, Medina has also published compilations of his editorial cartoons for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, called theInk and Politics series. The cartoons sometimes feature Pugad Baboy characters. Polgas always appears on covers of these books.

Medina includes photos and caricatures of himself in some of the strip's compilations.